Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Deere & Company $DE

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management initiated a new position in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter, buying 2,691 shares valued at about $1.25 million.
• Deere’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.42 versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $9.61 billion, up 17.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock: Deere has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $655.45, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,691 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1,725.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,003,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $932,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,972 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 23,922 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,137,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 35,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $562.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $580.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $537.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a one year low of $433.00 and a one year high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.01 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company's dividend payout ratio is 36.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $530.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $655.45.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company's principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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